Cooper DeJean’s Spot In the Slot Inspires A Hope that the Eagles Have Locked Up the Secondary for Decades to Come.
Coming out of the week 5 bye week and into a game against the Cleveland Browns — the Eagles are expected to start rookie cornerback Cooper DeJean in the slot replacing Avonte Maddox. The move comes as Philly’s defense ranks 27th after four games, giving up approximately 365.8 yards each game and placing the Eagles top two 2024 Draft selections together in the defensive backfield for the first time ever. Hopefully, the first time is for a long time.
When the Eagles selected cornerback Cooper DeJean alongside of Quinyon Mitchell in the NFL Draft of April 2024 — the franchises plan was to lock up the secondary for years to come. DeJean was Tatum-Woodson Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year, a Rodgers-Dwight Big Ten Return Specialist of the Year, and a unanimous consensus All American at the University of Iowa.
Twenty-two years earlier — in the NFL Draft of 2002 — the Eagles selected Sheldon Brown alongside of Lito Sheppard to help anchor Jim Johnson’s secondary. Sheppard was taken in the first round, Brown in the second. The result of both additions helped to produce one of the finest Eagles’ defenses since the early 1990s — an attacking defensive with innovative blitz-packages from the creative mind of defensive coordinator Jim Johnson whose defensive scheme’s made opposing team’s feel like the Eagles had twenty-five defenders on the field instead of eleven. As a team — those Eagles would advance to three more NFC Championship Games and one Super Bowl before both players were no longer on the team.
Through four games of the 2024 NFL season — Quinyon Mitchell has been targeted and singled out by opposing defenses. By en-large — he has not only showed his ability and skills as a defender but also his fiery will to compete. For fellow draft-class member Cooper DeJean — the road to his first NFL action has been a little more tenuous. DeJean injured his hamstring before Training Camp. Thrust into action on special teams due to a shoulder injury to returner Britain Covey, last week DeJean fumbled a punt return when a flag was picked up by the officials for kick-catch interference after Isaiah Rodgers, Jr. blocked a Tampa Bay Player into him. Later, Kelle Ringo plowed in DeJean on another return opportunity.
For Avonte Maddox — selected in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL Draft one year removed from the Eagles Super Bowl Championship— has been to five playoff appearances with the Eagles including Super Bowl LVII in 2023. After a string of injuries over the next four years, Maddox was released by the Eagles in March of 2024 and re-signed with the team one month later.
For the Eagles — the hope is that by starting the future of the secondary now can help solidify a Vic Fangio defense that has yet to battle NFC East receivers such as Malik Nabers, CeeDee Lamb, and Terry McLaurin in 2024. If the secondary doesn’t make those plays in 2024 — they won’t be playing into the winter of 2025.
The post Securing the Slot appeared first on Philadelphia Sports Nation.